National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is a major league that plays ice hockey. It is divided into the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Its conference champions meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. History The Early Years The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association (NHA). Founded in 1909, the NHA began play one year later with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey; but by the NHA's eighth season, a series of disputes with Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone led team owners of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators & Quebec Bulldogs to hold a meeting to discuss the league's future. Realizing that the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA. On November 26, 1917, the NHL was formed. Frank Calder was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943. The Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto, the Arenas, to compete with the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators. The first games were played on December 19, 1917. The Montreal Arena burned down in January of 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations and the NHL continued on as a three-team league until the Bulldogs returned in 1919. The NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, which was an interleague competition back then. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for the 1918 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won the league title in 1919; however their Stanley Cup Final against the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned as a result of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Montreal in 1924 won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL. The Hamilton Tigers won the regular season title in the 1924–25 season, but they refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus. The NHL refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after they defeated the Toronto St. Patricks (formerly the Arenas) in the semi-final. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) for the 1925 Stanley Cup. It was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926 after the WCHL ceased operation. The NHL embarked on rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons and Boston Bruins in 1924. The Bruins were the first American team in the league. The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers and were joined by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The New York Rangers were added in 1926. The Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars (later called the Detroit Red Wings) were also added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL. A group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and immediately renamed them the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Original Six The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, whose career ended on a vicious hit by Eddie Shore. The second All-Star Game was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenz's family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game The Great Depression and the onset of World War II took a toll on the league. The Pirates became the Philadelphia Quakers in 1930, but they folded a year later. The Senators likewise became the St. Louis Eagles in 1934, also lasting only one year. The Maroons did not survive, as they suspended operations in 1938. The Americans were suspended in 1942 due to a lack of available players, and were never reactivated. The league was reduced to six teams for the 1942–43 NHL season: the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs; these six teams remained constant for 25 years, a period known as the Original Six. The NHL reached an agreement with the Stanley Cup trustees in 1947 to take full control of the trophy, allowing the NHL to reject challenges from other leagues that wished to play for the Cup. Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first player to score 50 goals, doing so in a 50-game season. He later led the Canadiens to five consecutive titles between 1956 and 1960, a record no team has matched. Willie O'Ree broke the league's colour barrier on January 18, 1958 when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins and became the first black player in league history. Post-Original Six expansion By the mid-1960s, the desire for a network television contract in the U.S., and concerns that the Western Hockey League was planning on declaring itself a major league and challenge for the Stanley Cup, spurred the NHL to undertake its first expansion since the 1920s. The NHL doubled in size to 12 teams for the 1967–68 season, adding the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, California Seals and St. Louis Blues. Canadian fans were outraged that all six teams were placed in the United States and the NHL responded by adding the Vancouver Canucks in 1970 along with the Buffalo Sabres, who are both located on the Canada–US border. Two years later, the emergence of the newly founded World Hockey Association led the league to add the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames to keep the rival league out of those markets. In 1974, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts were added, bringing the league up to 18 teams. The NHL fought the WHA for players, losing 67 to the new league in its first season of the 1972–73 season, including Bobby Hull, who had signed a 10-year, $2.5 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets (which was the largest contract in hockey history at the time). The NHL attempted to block the defections in court, but a counter-suit by the WHA led to a Philadelphia judge ruling the NHL's reserve clause to be illegal, thus eliminating the elder league's monopoly over the players. Seven years of battling for players and markets financially damaged both leagues, leading to a 1979 merger agreement that saw the WHA cease operations while the NHL absorbed the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques. The owners initially rejected this merger agreement by one vote, but a massive boycott of Molson Brewery products by fans in Canada caused the Montreal Canadiens, which was owned by Molson, to reverse its position, along with the Vancouver Canucks. In a second vote the plan was approved. Wayne Gretzky played one season in the WHA for the Indianapolis Racers (eight games) and the Edmonton Oilers (72 games) before the Oilers joined the National Hockey League for the 1979–80 season. Gretzky went on to lead the Oilers to four Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988, and set single season records for goals (92 in 1981–82), assists (163 in 1985–86) and points (215 in 1985–86), as well as career records for goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). He was traded to the Kings in 1988, a deal that dramatically improved the NHL's popularity in the United States. By the turn of the century nine more teams were added to the NHL: the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers (now Winnipeg Jets), and in 2000, the Minnesota Wild & the Columbus Blue Jackets. On July 21, 2015, the NHL confirmed that it had received applications from prospective ownership groups in Quebec City and Las Vegas for possible expansion teams. On June 22, 2016, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the addition of a 31st franchise, based in Las Vegas and later named the Vegas Golden Knights, into the NHL for the 2017–18 season. On December 4, 2018, the NHL announced a 32nd franchise in Seattle to begin play in the 2021–22 season. Labour issues There have been four NHL-wide work stoppages in NHL history. The first was a strike by the National Hockey League Players' Association in April of 1992 which lasted for ten days, but the strike was settled quickly and all affected games were rescheduled. A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to just 48, with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season. The resulting collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was set for renegotiation in 1998 and extended to September 15, 2004. With no new agreement in hand when the contract expired on September 15, 2004, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and closed the league's head office. The NHL vowed to install what it dubbed "cost certainty" for its teams, but the Players' Association countered that the move was little more than a euphemism for a salary cap, which the union initially said it would not accept. The lockout shut down the league for 310 days (the longest in sports history) as the NHL became the first professional sports league to lose an entire season. A new collective bargaining agreement was eventually ratified in July 2005, including a salary cap. The agreement had a term of six years with an option of extending the collective bargaining agreement for an additional year at the end of the term, allowing the NHL to resume as of the 2005–06 season. On October 5, 2005, the first post-lockout season took to the ice with all 30 teams. The NHL received record attendance in the 2005–06 season: an average of 16,955 per game. The league's TV audience was slower to rebound because of American cable broadcaster ESPN's decision to drop the sport. The NHL's post-lockout agreement with NBC gave the league a share of revenue from each game's advertising sales, rather than the usual lump sum paid up front for game rights. The league's annual revenues were estimated at approximately $2.27 billion. At midnight on September 16, 2012, the labour pact had expired and the NHL again locked out the players. The owners proposed reducing the players' share of hockey-related revenues from 57% to 47%. All games were cancelled up to January 14, 2013, as well as the 2013 NHL Winter Classic and the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend. A tentative agreement was reached on January 6, 2013, on a ten-year deal. On January 12, 2013, the NHL and the Players' Association signed a memorandum of understanding on the new deal, allowing teams to begin their training camps on January 13, with a shortened 48-game season schedule that began on January 19, 2013. Teams Eastern Conference * Boston Bruins * Buffalo Sabres * Carolina Hurricanes * Columbus Blue Jackets * Detroit Red Wings * Florida Panthers * Montreal Canadiens * New Jersey Devils * New York Islanders * New York Rangers * Ottawa Senators * Philadelphia Flyers * Pittsburgh Penguins * Tampa Bay Lightning * Toronto Maple Leafs * Washington Capitals Western Conference * Anaheim Ducks * Arizona Coyotes * Calgary Flames * Chicago Blackhawks * Colorado Avalanche * Dallas Stars * Edmonton Oilers * Los Angeles Kings * Minnesota Wild * Nashville Predators * St. Louis Blues * San Jose Sharks * Vancouver Canucks * Vegas Golden Knights * Winnipeg Jets Former NHL Teams * Anaheim Mighty Ducks * Atlanta Flames * Atlanta Thrashers * Brooklyn Americans * California Golden Seals * Cleveland Barons * Colorado Rockies (NHL) * Hamilton Tigers * Hartford Whalers * Kansas City Scouts * Minnesota North Stars * Montreal Maroons * Montreal Wanderers * New York Americans * Ottawa Senators (original) * Philadelphia Quakers (NHL) * Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL) * Phoenix Coyotes * Quebec Bulldogs * Quebec Nordiques * St. Louis Eagles * Winnipeg Jets (original) Category:Leagues Category:Major Leagues Category:Ice Hockey Leagues